Collapsible lace hook



y 7, 1965 J. P. CASNER ETAL. 3,197,097

COLLAPSIBLE LACE HOOK Filed Feb. 26. 1962 ll/AV ZlqMEs P. Lbs/v52(lb/145s B. s's/sz/ INVENTORS.

BY Z m h1g4 United States Patent 3,197,097 CULLAPSELE LACE HOOK .lamesP. Casner and James B. Pesiri, both of 325 W. Wells Sh, Pasadena, Calif.Filed Feb. 26, 1952, Ser. No. 175,525 1 Qlaim; ($5. 223-113) Thisinvention relates to hooks adapted to tighten boot laces after the bootis donned. Usually preparatory to the act of pulling on the boots, thelaces must be loosened; and these laces must be tightened to ensure asnug fit of the boot. Such snugness is especially important for suchactivities as roller or ice skating, military boots, skiing, etc.Furthermore, after the boots are donned, the laces may loosen; and it isdifiicult for the fingers alone to tighten them. Hence the necessity ofa hook for effectively pulling the lacing together.

Hooks of this character are quite large; it is difiicult to carry themabout the person; and even if they were,

there would be a substantial hazard when a spill occurred.

Under such circumstances, if the skater or skier should vfall with greatforce, the long shanked hook would readily cause physical injury.

It is one of the objects of this invention to provide a serviceable lacehook that is safe to carry, and that is sufficiently small toaccommodate in an ordinary coat or trousers pocket.

It is another object of this invention to provide a folding hook forthis purpose that is simple to manufacture.

This invention possesses many other advantages, and 0 has other objectswhich may be made more clearly apparent from a consideration of severalembodiments of the invention. For this purpose, there are shown a fewforms in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the presentspecification, and which drawings, unless as otherwise indicated, aretrue scale. These forms will now be described in detail, illustratingthe general principles of the invention; but it is to be understood thatthis detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, sincethe scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claim.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a pictorial view illustrating a lace hook incorporating theinvention, as in use for skate shoes;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the lace hook in its open operatingposition;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the hook taken on line 33 ofFIG. 2, but in folded position, phantom lines being used to indicate thesteps for placing the hook in proper operating position;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along a plane corresponding to line 4-4of FIG. 3, phantom lines being used to indicate the extension of thehook with respect to the handle;

FIG. :5 is a sectional view, taken along a plane corresponding to line5-5 of FIG. 3, with the hook in position for use;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4, of a modified form of the invention;and

FIG. 7 is an end view thereof.

In FIG. 1, a skate shoe 1 having laces 2 is engaged by hook 3 fortightening the laces. This hook in the extended position of FIG. 2,includes a handle 4; and at right angles thereto, a hook 5. The handle 4may be made from such moldable material as plastic or metal; the hook 5is made of appropriate metal.

The handle 4 is shaped properly to fit the hand. The hook 5 has a head 6forming a T with the shank of the hook 5, this configuration of the headserving to key it against rotation so that the shank and hook will notturn as the hook is being placed under the lace. The head 6 ispositioned in an L-shaped cavity formed of a longitudi- 3,197,697Patented July 27, 1965 ice nally-extending portion 7 and a transverseportion 13. The end of the portion 7 remote from the transverse portionis closed, this closed end being near one end of the handle. One side ofthe handle has a slot 8 therein ex tending longitudinally from thejuncture of the two portions or arms of the L-shaped cavity to the endof the handle remote from said one end. The bottom 7a of this slot lieson an imaginary line paralleling the longitudinal axis of symmetry ofsaid first portion and extending between said axis and the side 7 ofsaid first portion. The slot 8 permits the elongated hook member 5 to bepulled longitudinally through the slot and to be swung away from thehandle to the operating position shown in FIG. 2. The width of thisslot, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, is insufficient to receive the head 6,but great enough to permit the section of said member between the head 6and the hook 17 to move translationally and angularly therein.

In the folded position shown in full lines in FIGS. 3 and 4, the shankof the hook is received in the L-shaped cavity 7-13. The hook end of thehook 5 engages a wide recess 1% formed in the end of handle 4. Thisrecess permits insertion of a finger tip behind the hook end forwithdrawing hook 5 from handle 4. The hook 5 is releasably held in theposition shown in full lines in FIG. 3 by two small projections 11formed in the Walls of the slot 7, beyond which the head 6 of the hook 5passes when the hook is pushed in from the phantom line position 5a(FIG. 3). The projections 11 are urged apart if sufficient force isexerted on the hook 5 inwardly of the slot 7, and snap into their normalposition when the head 6 reaches the left hand end of the slot. Theprojections 11 are placed quite close to this end of the slot, toconfine the head 6 quite closely to the position shown in FIG. 3.

When it is desired to extend the hook 5 to the phantom line position 5bof FIG. 3, the hook 5 is first pulled out wardly by urging the end ofthe hook by the finger to the position 5a. This position is limited bythe shoulder 12 formed at the juncture of the longitudinal portion ofthe cavity 7 and the transverse portion 13. The head 6 may then be urgedinto the depending portion 13 of the L- shaped cavity, and the hook 5moved angularly through slot 3 to the position 5b (FIG. 3). The endsurface 14 of the slot 8 limits this angular movement. The hook 5 is nowin position for use.

In the form shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a handle 15 is provided with alongitudinal slot 19 capable of accommodating the head 16 of the hook17. The head 16 may slide in the slot 19 within the limits defined bythe ends of this slot, the aperture 29 leading to the slot andaccommodating the shank of hook 17. The projections 21 and 22 near theends of the slot 19 serve to yieldingly maintain hook 17 in extended orretracted position.

The hook 17 may be extended to the position 17a of FIG. 6 by pulling onthe exposed end of the hook, to pass the head 16 between projections 21.

The end of the hook 17 when retracted, may be received in a recess 23formed in the end of the handle 13, for accommodating the finger to pullthe hook 17 to its active position.

The inventors claim:

In a lace hook structure: a handle body having an internal cavityopening at the exterior surface of the body; a unitary lace hook memberhaving a shank portion slidably fitting the handle body cavity andmovable through said cavity opening; said lace hook member having ablunt hook end movable from a retracted position on the outside of saidbody adjacent the said exterior opening of said body to a projectedposition spaced substantially from said body; said body having meansencompassing said shank portion in the body cavity when the hook end isin retracted position; said body having a configuration substantiallyconforming to and substantially fitting said hook end when said hookmember is in retracted position; said body having opposed exterior wallmeans projecting from the body and extending on opposite sides of saidhook end to shield the hook end when the lace hook member is inretracted position, said opposed Wall means also diverging along theblunt hook end and then extending rearwardly of said blunt hook end todefine a finger space in which the blunt hook end is exposed forapplication of digital pressure to initiate the projection of said lacehook member; said lace hook member having at its other inner end aprojection extending lateral- 13 of said shank portion; said cavityincluding an elongated recess of non-circular transverse cross-sectionreceiving said laterally extending projection and confining said hookmember against angular movement about the axis of its shank portionthroughout the course of longitudinalmovement of said lace hook member;said recess having an end wall engaging said projection upon outwardmovement of said lace hook member for limiting the outward movementthereof; said handle body being made of resilient material capable offlexure; said handle body having a pair of integrally formed projectionslocated at said elongated recess, each projection extend- 4 ingpartially into the path of movement of said lateral projectionintermediate the length of said path, said projections being spaced fromeach other and positioned releasably to latch the lace hook memberrespectively in retracted and projected positions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS JORDAN FRANKLIN,Primary Examiner. 'THOMAS J. HICKEY, Examiner.

